In my column over at the DG, I write about habits - about how difficult they can be to break, and also to establish.

Here's an excerpt:

"A while back, I wrote about giving up soda for Lent.

My goal was to kick my habit of drinking soda all the time — something I wasn’t sure I could do unless faced with a very specific, time-sensitive challenge. Lent gave me a start date and an end date, as well as a sense of purpose and sacrifice. Unlike my previous attempts to stop drinking soda, something actually seemed to be at stake here, although what exactly that something was it’s tough to say. Perhaps pride. Having made such a public pronouncement of my plan to stop drinking soda, I didn’t want people making fun of me if I failed.

Quitting soda wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but it did require me to develop new habits. Instead of buying soda on my trips to the vending machine, I bought iced tea. Instead of buying a soda with my launch, I bought seltzer water. Occasionally, I bought coffee. But mostly I drank water. Lots and lots of water.